Removal of waste yarn from bobbins and the like



Nov. 11, 1952 W. V. HENRY REMOVAL OF WASTE YARN FROM BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Filed July 21, 1949 2 SHEETSf-SHEET 1 I N VEN TOR.

lfilliam Lflfazly 41%; 27%

W. V. HENRY Nov. 11, 1952 REMOVAL OF WASTE YARN FROM BOBBINS AND THE LIKE Filed July 21, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 EEEEEZEW I N VEN TOR. William lifielzzy w 1.

Patented Nov. 11, 1952 REMOVAL OF WASTE YARN FROM ROBBINS v AND THE LIKE William V. Henry, Candler, N. 0., assignor to American Enka. Corporation, 'Enka, N. 0., a

corporation of Delaware Application July 21, 1949, serialiNo. 105,989

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to the removal of waste yarn from holders therefor, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for cutting waste yarn on bobbins, spools and the like that have no rims or flanges on each end.

In the manufacture of rayon, when yarn is unwound from'the bobbins a'few of the innermost layers are left because they have imperfections which would lower the quality of the finished product when it is sold. The usual method of removing the waste is manually cutting it off by means of a knife, but this method is slow and therefore expensive from a standpoint of production costs. Moreover, the manual cutting operation involves the risk of marring the surfaces of the lacquered bobbins, because it is impossible to regulate with sufiieient precision the path of the knife as it passes over the surface of the bobbin.

It is therefore desirable to perform the cutting operation mechanically and with a precision cutter that will sever the convolutions of waste in a clean manner, but without scratching the urfaces of the bobbins. Several suchmachines have been developed, but they are expensive to build, install and maintain, due to their complicated nature and their multiplicity of moving parts. In all of these machines the bobbins are gripped individually and passed in sequence to a cutter and in a direction transverse to the axis of each bobbin. In other words, the bobbins are positioned side by ide with their axes at right angles to the direction of their movement. When each bobbin reaches the cutting zone it must be immobilized long enough for a reciproeating cutting blade to pass across the face of the bobbin and sever the convolutions. This is an intermittent operation requiring all of the bobbins to be held stationary while the one in the cutting zone is being worked on. Such -a ystem is described :in U. S. Patent No. 2,303,048.

It is contemplated by the present invention to provide a system in which the waste yarn is automatically severed and removed from the bobbin but the system is characterizedby its simplicity and a minimum of moving parts.

Another object of this invention is to continuously feed a plurality of flangeless bobbins arranged in axial alignment one behind the other to a cutting zon and there sever the-convolutions of waste iyarn with a cutting blade that is stationary in a horizontal plane but pivotal in a vertical plane.

Afurther object of this invention is to provide an apparatus in which the bobbins are propelled 2 to'the cutting'zone by means of two endless conveyor belts.

'An additional object of this invention is to propel the bobbins in a horizontal direction in axial'a'lignment until they reach the cutting zone, whereupon the path of travel-of each bobbin is defle'c'te'dfor-a portion of the cutting operation, but is returned to a horizontal position as the cutting operation is completed on that bobbin.

'Otherobjects'and'advantages of this invention Will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction 'with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus that can be successfully used for continuously advancing the "bobbins and cutting the waste therefrom;

Figure 2 isa view in side'elevation and partial section showing the arrangement of the cutting deviceand its-position with respect to the propelling mechanism;

Figure 3 is a view in section taken on line 33 v of Figure 2;

Figure 4a is a detail partiallyin elevation and partially in section showing the position of a bobbin which has completely passed through the cuttingzone and the position of the next succeeding bobbin with respect to the cutting blade which has begun the initial cutting operation; and

Figure 4b is a detail partially in elevation and partially in section showing a bobbin that has just passed through the cutting zone and the next succeeding bobbin that has just entered the cutting zone, at which point the cutting blade is position to begin the cutting operation.

Referring to the drawings, flangeless bobbins i0 containing waste rayon are supplied to the right hand side of "the machine as viewed in Figures 1 and 2,by any-suitable means such as a chute (not shown). These bobbins are propelled in a horizontal direction in axial alignment by *means'of endless rubber conveyor belts I l and 12, the bobbins being supported in a V- shaped trough 13, which is mounted on a platform generallyindicated at 14. The bobbins I0 bear against the sides of the trough L3 as shown in Figure 3.

T heendless'conveyor belts i I and [2 are serrated on their "exteriors so as to enhance the gripping action between the bobbins and the belts. Each of the endless conveyor belts I! and i2 pass around a pair of drums 15 and i6, and I1 and I8, respectively. :Shaft 19 is supported in As the bobbins ||l approach the cutting zone,

they pass under a guide roller 21 that is mounted for free rotation on axle 28 which is fastened ateach end to uprights 29 and 30. The roller 21 is preferably constructed of rubber which is sufficiently resilient to permit the bobbin passing therebelow to be elevated at its forward end during the cutting operation but sufficiently rigid to hold the bobbin in a horizontal position until the cutting operation has been initiated.

The cutting mechanism consists of a knife 3| fastened through arm 32 to a cross-bar 33 which is mounted for pivotal movement in standards 34. The knife 3| is made integral witha cross-piece 35 which carries springs 36 at each end thereof for urging the knife downwardly. The other ends of springs 38 are attached to posts 31 so that the upward motion of the knife 3| acts against the action of the springs. The downward movement of the knife 3| is limited by stops 38 on each end of cross-piece 35 which engage the upper ends of the respective posts 37. The knife is, therefore, stationary in a horizontal plane but has limited movement in a vertical plane. The shape and general construction of the knife 3| per se forms no part of this invention, except in combination, although it must be adapted for efiicient severing of the yarn. One type of knife which has been found to be particularly suitable is that shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 2,098,123.

Referring more particularly to Figures 4a and 4b, each bobbin |0a is conveyed along the trough |3 in a horizontal direction until it is engaged by knife 3|, at which point the front end of the bobbin is deflected upwardly by-an inclined guideway 39 formed in the trough I3. As the bobbin passes up the guideway the knife 3 I, being urged downwardly by springs 36, is caused to pass axially of the bobbin from one end to the other and thereby severs the convolutions of yarn. When the cutting operation is completed, the bobbin Illa has reached the position shown in Figure 4b at which point its forward end engages a shoe 40 that forces the bobbin back to a horizontal position, although in a slightly higher plane than it was prior to the cutting operation. It is an important feature of this invention that the knife 3| pass over the rear end of bobbin Mia and drop down to a lower level at the time that the next succeeding bobbin illb begins its passage up the guideway 39. In this way, it is assured that the knife 3| will not get caught in the rims of the bobbins nor mar the lacquer on the surface thereof.

The shoe 40 is provided with a toe that extends parallel to the bobbin and is urged downwardly by springs 4| which are attached at their lower ends to posts 42 and attheir upper ends to a cross-bar 43. Cross bar 43 is integral with shoe 40 which is, in turn, mounted for pivotal movement on bar 44 supported in standards 45. The springs 4| are stronger than springs 36 so that as soon as a bobbin is engaged by shoe 40 as the cutting operation is completed, it will be brought back to a horizontal position just before the knife 3| passes over the end of the bobbin.

Vshaped trough is interrupted for about onethird of the length of a bobbin, and as it passes therethrough, the waste yarn falls into a basket 4'! provided with a screen bottom 48 in order to allow the water to drain and be carried away by any suitable means.

It can be seen from the above description that the operation of this waste cutter is extremely simple although very efficient. Intricate mechanism for positioning the bobbins and for operating the knife is unnecessary. Feeding the bobbins in axial alignment in a horizontal direction is effected entirely by the conveying belts and the cutting mechanism requires no adjustment so that the entire process is a continuous one which is substantially fool-proof. The spring loaded knife and hold-down shoe maintain the bobbins and knife in relative operative positions at all times while the inclined guideway prevents the knife from getting caught between the bobbins.

What is claimed is:

1. A process for removing waste yarn from flangeless bobbins which comprises arranging a plurality of such bobbins in axial alignment and continuously propelling them in a horizontal direction to a cutting zone, elevating the forward end of each bobbin as it approaches the cutting zone to engage a cutting edge that is stationary in a horizontal plane, severing the convolutions of yarn from below in a path transversely of the bobbins as they are guided through the cutting zone, and returning the bobbins to a higher horizontal position as the cutting operation is completed.

2. Apparatus for removing waste yarn from fiangeless bobbins which comprises means for supporting a plurality of such bobbins in horizontal, axial alignment, means for continuously propelling the bobbins to a cutting zone while maintaining this relationship, a cutting mechanism comprising a non-rotary cutting blade that is stationary in a horizontal plane but mounted for pivotal movement in a vertical plane, means urging the blade into contact with the surface of each bobbin as it passes in an axial direction through the cutting zone, means for elevating the forward end of each bobbin as the cutting blade engages and severs the convolutions during the relative transverse movement between the blade and each bobbin, and means to return each bobbin to a higher horizontal position as the cutting operation is completed on that bobbin.

3. Apparatus for removing waste yarn from flangeless bobbins which comprises means for supporting a plurality of such bobbins in horizontal, axial alignment, conveying belts for continuously propelling the bobbins to a cutting zone while maintaining this relationship, a cutting mechanism comprising a non-rotary cutting blade that is stationary in a horizontal plane but mounted for pivotal movement in a vertical plane, spring means urging the blade into contact with the surface of each bobbin as it passes in an axial direction through the cutting zone, means for elevating the forward end of each bobbin as the cutting blade engages and severs the convolutions 'duringthe passageof the bobbin through the cutting zone, and a spring loaded shoe for returning each bobbin to a horizontal position at a higher level as the cutting operation is completed.

4. Apparatus for removing waste yarn from flangeless bobbins which comprises a V-shaped trough for supporting a plurality of such bobbins in horizontal, axial alignment, conveying belts on each side of the bobbins for continuously propelling them to a cutting zone while maintaining this relationship, a cutting mechanism comprising a non-rotary cutting blade that is stationary in a horizontal plane but mounted for pivotal movement in a vertical plane, spring means urging the blade into contact with the surface of each bobbin as it passes in an axial direction through the cutting zone, an inclined guideway for elevating the forward end of each bobbin as the cutting blade engages and severs the convolutions during the passage of the bobbin through the cutting zone, and a spring 6 loaded shoe for returning each bobbin to a horizontal position at a higher level as the cutting operation is completed.

WILLIAM V. HENRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

